July 22, 2012

WHAT A DIFFERENCE EACH DAY MAKES......

We have had quite a busy week!!!! None of our days have consisted of
very much idle time. On Monday we had to take Callie Beth to the
hospital to have blood drawn to run the titers for her immunizations and
for the other routine things that children adopted
from China are checked for. I was expecting it to not be a very
pleasant event. Molly Kate screamed HORRIBLY when she had her blood
work done. I don't think it was because it hurt, but instead because a
bunch of strangers was holding her down. This time
with Callie Beth, there were only two nurses, so I designated Roger to
be the other "holder downer" since I didn't want Callie Beth mad at me
for it!!! We learned right off the bat, before the needle was ever
inserted in her arm, that our second little darling
is also double jointed like her little sister. The nurse had Callie
Beth's arm stretched flat on the bed with her wrist up. About the time
the other nurse was getting ready to insert the needle, Callie Beth
totally flipped her mid arm over so that her elbow
was sticking up----and her wrist was still turned up!!!! It looked
weird!!! The nurses got her arm flipped back over, and with a little
effort, got the needle in her vein. She fussed a little at first, but
was giggling a few seconds later, as they drained
one vial of blood after another out of her body. Seven vials later,
they were finished!!!----and she was a happy girl!!!! I was thrilled to
find out yesterday that the results of all the tests were negative, AND
that the titers show that all the immunizations
she received in China were effective. She won't need any more shots
until she turns 4!!!!!

On Tuesday, the girls and I, along with McLane, Evan's girlfriend, spent
the day at Venture River. It was Callie Beth's first time at a water
park. As much as she loves water and taking a bath, I really thought
she would love it. However, she was quite overwhelmed.
As with many other things in her life, I think her vision problem was
the source of her insecurity there. I think I traumatized her when I
took her down the slide in the kiddie pool. I've learned, though, that
sometimes when I force her to do things she
THINKS she doesn't want to do, she ends up liking it. That didn't hold
true for the slide, though. We did a family ride, the wave pool, and
the lazy river. She fussed in all of them. She did get settled in the
lazy river, when I got her ring lodged into
mine so tightly that we were literally cheek to cheek, and so close
that I could

feel her eyelashes brushing my face every time she
blinked. She was VERY happy in that position and I think we could have
stayed that way the rest of the day!!!! I think her
favorite part of the trip, though, was eating a snack, once we got out
of the water!!!

On Wednesday, Roger, the girls, and I made a trip to Nashville. We
stopped by Show Hope in Franklin for a visit to share our new daughter.
Our best Show Hope friend, Cathy Troyer, was out of the office that
day, so we were disappointed. We enjoyed sharing
about our trip with some of the other wonderful people there, though. I
was so sad to learn that one of the precious babies that we saw in the
Show Hope Center in the orphanage when we visited, had passed away. I
don't know if the baby was a boy or girl---I
just know that my heart was so touched when I saw a precious child,
obviously very sick, lying in the crib that day. Oh, how ALL the sweet
babies, healthy or not, need loving homes. I know, without a shadow of
doubt, that that sweet baby was LOVED dearly
by those at the center, and was cared for until the last breath was
drawn. We feel SO blessed that our precious Callie Beth spent the
majority of her life in the center. It's OBVIOUS that she was loved and
nurtured there, because she certainly knows how
to love in return and is very compassionate with others.

After leaving Show Hope, we met our social worker (the MOST WONDERFUL
SOCIAL WORKER IN THE WORLD), Lisa Mosley at Chick-Fil-A in Smyrna for
our one month post adoption visit. Molly Kate LOVED the indoor
playground there, while Callie Beth LOVED the food!!!
She did finally play on the playground, too, and climbed to the very
top. Roger had to climb up to get her because he wouldn't come down on
her own. Again, I think her vision problem contributed to this. We had
a WONDERFUL visit with Lisa, as always. She
truly is the GREATEST!!!!

I wanted to go to Opry Mills, since I hadn't had the opportunity to go
there since it reopened. Roger isn't much of a shopper, but since we
only had our single strollers with us, he had to push one. I don't
think he minded the experience too badly!!! The
girls rode a carousel for the first time. Neither one of them liked it
very well, although we did get a few, "WHEE'S" out of Callie Beth!!!
They enjoyed the little playground in the middle of the aisle that had
all kinds of things to climb on. Believe it
or not, I didn't buy ONE THING for the girls!!!! I didn't see anything
there CUTE enough for them!!!!! :)

After leaving Opry Mills, we decided we would drive back to Clarksville
to eat dinner. I'm not sure what prompted it, but Callie Beth decided
she needed to have a meltdown, and when she started her crying and
screaming, Molly Kate decided to join in, too.
Roger and I BOTH ignored the NOISE for probably 15 minutes. Finally, I
turned around in my seat and started singing at the top of my lungs.
Both girls STOPPED their screaming and crying!!! Of course, I had to
sing at the top of my lungs the rest of the
way to Clarksville. I'm not sure the screaming and crying wasn't more
pleasant to the ear!!!! Once we got to Clarksville, though, they were
both happy, and we had a nice meal at Red Lobster. Afterward, we headed
for HOME SWEET HOME!!! It was an overall FUN
day!!!!

On Thursday, the girls and I met our DEAR friends, the McCuiston's, at
Pagliai's for lunch. Jason and Kendra adopted their adorable daughter,
Charlotte, from China last fall. She and Molly Kate have loved each
other since the first time they met. The same
was true for her and Callie Beth. They were all three SO cute
together!!!! Molly Kate LOVES the playground in the back room at
Pagliai's, but of course, Callie Beth was scared to crawl through it or
get in the ball pit. After we had eaten, though, she began
to fuss for an unknown reason, so I decided if she was going to fuss,
she might as well have a reason to do so. I proceeded to FORCE her into
the ball pit. At first, she cried BLOODY MURDER, but then Kendra's two
sons who were also with her began to throw
the balls, and it was just seconds later that Callie Beth was
laughing. When we got ready to leave, Kendra had to climb in the balls
and get her out for me---she didn't want to get out!!!!

Friday was mowing day at Gran Gran's house, so I loaded up the girls and
Sophie Grace (she goes to play with my mom's dog, Daisy) and headed
that direction. I wasn't sure how Callie Beth would react, with me
being outside for 2 1/2 to 3 hours mowing, but she
did fine. She and Molly Kate played with the dollhouse and the
blocks. I think they snacked quite a bit, too. (One thing that we were
told in the information we received right before we got Callie Beth is
that food makes her happy quite quickly when she
is upset. The truth of the matter is, she likes food REGARDLESS of
what emotional state she is in. Luckily for us, she likes HEALTHY food
just as much as she likes JUNK food!!!) I think she had a really good
time at Gran Gran's!!! We met our friends, Jeff
and Gail at Chong's for dinner. It was Callie Beth's first meal at an
AMERICAN Chinese Restaurant. She liked everything we put in front of
her---not that we were surprised!!!!

Today, we spent the day at home. The girls played outside for a couple
of hours, while I pulled grass. They were really good and had a GREAT
time playing. I think they would have stayed out there all day, if I
had let them. I decided we needed to do hair
washes, baths, and then naps. Callie Beth screamed for quite awhile
when I put them to bed, but Molly Kate was tired enough that she slept
through it all. Callie Beth finally went to sleep, too.

It is just SO amazing how Callie Beth has changed in the less than three
weeks we have had her. Even though language is still a barrier, we
have an EXTREMELY happy, vivacious daughter number 2. She really
reminds me of Keaton when he was little---loud and
rowdy, but SOOOO sweet!!!! It is SUCH a blessing to see her
frustrations grow fewer and farther between, and her smiles and giggles
grow more frequent. Molly Kate thinks she is SO funny, and Callie Beth
adores her!!! They DO have disagreements sometimes,
all of which stem from having to SHARE, but they really do play well
together, and it's obvious they enjoy each other's company. They truly
are BFF's!!!

I think I've gabbed enough tonight, so I will post some pictures of this weeks' activities and sign off for now!!!!